Davide Veglia, CEO of Florida-based company ABTS Convention Services, died in a hit-and-run boating accident on Wednesday. He was with his teenage son on the vessel, who remains seriously injured. As per an NBC 6 South Florida report, the boating accident unfolded in Biscayne Bay, near the Meloy Channel in Miami, at around 8 p.m.
Veglia and his 14-year-old son were riding a small 7-foot dinghy on the day. Their outing turned tragic when another 30-foot boat struck and nearly plowed over their vessel. The collision was so severe that both father and son were immediately ejected into the water. The multi-motor vessel that struck them then fled the scene without stopping to help.
Local eyewitnesses have recalled hearing frantic calls for help from Veglia’s son. One of them, Samuel Londono, spoke to the press and said, “We hear ‘Help, help!’ That’s when I run to the dock, and I see like a silhouette or like a shadow of something, and we make it out and [say], ‘That’s someone, they need help, they need help.”
Florida CEO Davide Veglia killed, teen son hospitalized in hit-and-run Miami boat crash A Florida CEO was killed in a hit-and-run boat crash in front of his teenage son when an estimated 30-foot vessel plowed into their small dinghy during an evening rid… https://t.co/Gtxk1l6G6R pic.twitter.com/BRJnZn6gHO
— NahBabyNah (@NahBabyNahNah) March 27, 2026
Another eyewitness also recounted the same story, adding that they found the father already unconscious when they arrived to rescue him and his son. Enzo Avelino recalled that Davide’s body was floating in the water, as his son held on to him. In his words, “We instantly called the cops, let them know everything. I yelled for him to float before the cops came, and he floated. He was, like, floating there with his dad. The dad was unconscious when they got him and brought him back.”
First responders from the scene rushed the two to the nearest Ryder Trauma Center. Unfortunately, Davide Veglia was pronounced dead after being admitted to the hospital. His teenage son suffered only a broken arm and other minor injuries.
Meanwhile, the suspected multi-engine boat that caused the accident was captured on camera by surveillance agencies at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It was spotted traveling northbound from Biscayne Bay between 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. While the vessel’s operator has not yet been identified, investigators are still on the lookout for it.
FWC Officer George Reynaud issued a brief statement on locating the fleeing boat. He said, “The vessel involved has not yet been identified and is described as possibly a 20- to 30-foot boat with possibly two outboard motors and possibly a dark blue hull with black bottom paint.”
He urged anyone with information about the vessel or its owners to contact the department as soon as possible. In his words, “Anyone with information is urged to call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or the Miami Beach Police Department at 305-673-7900.”
Friends and family of Davide Veglia expressed shock and disbelief at news of his death in the boating accident. One of the late CEO’s best friends, Joao Moraes, struggled to process the news.
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Speaking with NBC 6, he expressed, “I can’t stand God took this man, too young. I lost my best friend. Davide, my friend, the best friend, I miss in my life, great passion with soccer, with everything. I’m in shock. I sat down all day and cried because I lost the best person in my life.”
For the untold, Davide Veglia had established himself as a young entrepreneur turned CEO. At just the age of 25, he became an international student who formed the ABTS Convention Services in 1995. The company gradually grew into becoming a reputed global organization dealing with medical communications.
